Liz Truss Considers Legal Action Against Keir Starmer Over “Blew Up Britain” Remark

“Their publication is not only highly damaging but also grossly defamatory and unjustifiable,” read a letter from Liz Truss’ office.

The correspondence—first reported by The Telegraph—highlighted three occasions during the general election campaign where Labour Party leader Keir Starmer referred to Truss “crashing the economy.” Truss’ controversial mini-budget in September 2022 fueled significant market turbulence, causing the British pound to plummet and eroding investor confidence. The ensuing chaos forced her out of office just a month later, though Truss placed blame on a “deep state” backlash against her unvetted tax-cutting policies rather than her own decisions.

Truss has maintained that the financial instability stemmed instead from pension fund mismanagement of liability-driven investment strategies (LDIs) and inadequate oversight by the Bank of England.

The letter argued there had been no evidence of an economic crash, citing the absence of significant effects on unemployment rates, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, or the long-term value of the sterling currency.

Truss called for the prime minister to “immediately cease and desist” from repeating or disseminating what she deemed “defamatory statements,” expressing hope that the controversy could now be “resolved.”

However, a spokesperson for Starmer responded on Thursday, affirming that the Labour leader stood by his statements and had no intention of tempering his language.

Truss’ remarks come amid new economic uncertainty in the United Kingdom, as government borrowing costs soared this week to their highest levels in 16 years. Despite this, Treasury Minister Darren Jones emphasized on Thursday that “financial markets are always evolving” and assured there was “no need for any emergency intervention.”